Browsing by Author "Gunaratne, T"

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Embargo
Regional emissions and climate impact: analysing carbon dioxide and methane effects on temperature and sea levels in Asia
(Springer, 2025-10-26) Punchihewa, C; Liyanage, S; Badurdeen, S; Gunaratne, T; Jayathilaka, R
Climate change and its impacts are felt worldwide, and with increasing anthropogenic emissions, many international efforts are centred around mitigating emissions and meeting climate targets. The Asian continent has made the most significant contributions to global emissions, with China, India, and Russia generating the largest share of emissions. Given Asia’s vulnerability to climate change, the study addresses the literature gap by examining the regional impact of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and methane (CH4) emissions on mean surface temperature (MST) and the effects of MST on mean sea levels (MSL) through panel regressions focusing on the period from 1993 to 2020, considering 45 countries. The study found that regional CO2 and CH4 emissions had a significant positive impact on MST at a 1% significance level, and MST had a positive impact on MSL at a 5% level of significance. The study has focused on continental sources of anthropogenic emissions and applied econometrics over traditional climate models to enable a more nuanced, granular, region-specific understanding of emission impacts for targeted policy development. It has proposed targeted policy measures to mitigate emissions, highlighting the importance of regional collaboration among Asian countries in achieving emission reduction goals.
Open Access
Unmasking climate vulnerability in Africa: the role of CO2 and CH4 emissions on rising temperatures and sea levels
(Springer Nature, 2025-05-02) Gunaratne, T; Liyanage, S; Punchihewa, C; Badurdeen, S; Jayathilaka, R
Climate change influenced by anthropogenic emissions is a global occurrence affecting the Mean Surface Temperature (MST) and Mean Sea Level (MSL) patterns. The African continent contributes to the lowest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions globally. However, GHG emissions, particularly Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) emission patterns, show a continuous increase in the African region, reflecting the importance of practising economic growth in the continent with sustainable environmental policies to meet future global climate targets. Given Africa’s increasing emissions and the continent’s vulnerability to climate change, this study contributes to the existing literature by assessing the continental and country-wise impact of CO2 and CH4 emissions on MST and the resulting impact on MSL through Fixed Effect (FE) panel estimation and Simple Linear Regression (SLR). The research employs data from 1993 to 2020 for fifty-four African countries. The study’s main findings show that CO2 and CH4 positively impact MST at a 1% significance level, and MST positively impacts MSL at a 5% significance level. This study focuses on continent-specific and country-specific emissions and their impacts and proposes policy measures to mitigate the emissions in the African continent.
Open Access
Unveiling Climate Change in North Africa Through Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Surface Temperature Dynamics: A Panel Regression and Kaya Identi ty Analysis
(Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2024-12-04) Punchihewa, C. R.; Gunaratne, T; Badurdeen, S; Liyanage, S; Jayathilaka, R
Th e North African (NA) region has recorded the highest average Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions in Africa and endures a growing rate in Mean Surface Temperature (MST) levels. Focusing on six NA countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia, this study examines the period from 1990 to 2020. A mathemati cal identi ty for anthropogenic CO2 emissions was derived using the Kaya identi ty, expressing individual countries through four drivers: populati on, GDP per capita, energy intensity, and carbon intensity. Panel Regression and Simple Linear Regression (SLR) analysis were further conducted to determine the regional and country-specifi c impact of CO2 emissions on MST. The key fi ndings indicate a notable elevati on in the four drivers among countries, resulti ng in over a 50% increase in CO2 emissions by 2020 compared to 1990. Regression results suggest that regional and local CO2 emissions signifi cantly positi vely impact MST variati ons in the NA region. The study proposes customised local policies to address the drivers of CO2 emissions to miti gate the negati ve climati c consequences of rising CO2 levels.