Browsing by Author "Punchihewa, C"

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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
(www.nature.com, 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
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.