Economic Cost and Environmental Benefit Assessment of Green Construction Projects under the Global Carbon Neutrality Context

Abstract

This study critically examines the economic costs and environmental benefits of green construction projects within the accelerating global push toward carbon neutrality. Drawing on a systematic synthesis of empirical evidence from 2015 to 2024, alongside original analysis of twelve benchmark projects across Europe, East Asia, and Latin America, the research moves beyond narrow cost--premium narratives to develop an integrated, context-sensitive assessment framework. The proposed methodology harmonizes lifecycle cost modeling, standardized life cycle assessment, and spatially explicit ecosystem service valuation---calibrated through stakeholder-informed weighting and robust uncertainty testing. Findings reveal that green construction delivers net positive value in most settings, but only when embedded within supportive policy ecosystems: median operational payback occurs within five years, while lifecycle net benefit is strongly correlated with national policy stringency rather than technological sophistication alone. Crucially, carbon abatement accounts for less than half of total environmental value; water conservation and urban ecosystem services---such as heat island mitigation and stormwater management---emerge as equally significant, particularly in climate-vulnerable cities. Cost premiums, averaging 3--6 percent globally, are found to be highly mutable: certification inefficiencies and underutilization of prefabrication contribute substantially to avoidable expenditures, whereas digital twin--enabled commissioning and modular design consistently reduce these surcharges by several percentage points. The analysis further exposes persistent valuation gaps---especially in monetizing non-market benefits and capturing systemic spillovers like grid decarbonization feedbacks or supply chain transformations. Ultimately, the paper argues against universal cost--benefit benchmarks and advances the concept of 'contextual net benefit', urging policymakers to adopt tiered procurement standards, integrate dynamic carbon pricing into tender evaluations, and institutionalize standardized protocols for valuing ecological co-benefits in public infrastructure.