Due to large energy consumption and carbon emissions (ECCE) in the building sector, there is huge potential for carbon emission reduction, and this will strongly influence peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality in the future. To get a better sense of the current research situation and future trends and to provide a valuable reference and guidance for subsequent research, this study presents a summary of carbon peak and carbon neutrality (CPCN) in buildings using a bibliometric approach. Three areas are addressed in the review through the analysis of 364 articles published from 1990–2021: (1) Which countries, institutions, and individuals have conducted extensive and in-depth research on CPCN in buildings, and what is the status quo of their collaboration and contributions? (2) What subjects and topics have aroused wide interest and enthusiasm among scholars, and what are their time trajectories? (3) What journals and authors have grabbed the attention of many scholars, and what are the research directions related to them? Moreover, we propose future research directions. Filling these gaps will enrich the research body of CPCN and overcome current limitations by developing more methods and exploring other practical applications.

Carbon neutrality has positive impacts on people, nature and the economy, and buildings represent the “last mile” sector in the transition to carbon neutrality. Carbon neutrality is characterized by the decarbonization of operations and maintenance, in addition to zero emissions in electricity and other industry sectors. Taking China’s commercial buildings as an example, this study is the first to perform an extensive data analysis for a step-wise carbon neutral roadmap of building operations via the analysis of a dynamic emission scenario. The results reveal that the carbon emissions abatement of commercial building operations from 2001 to 2018 was 1460.85 (±574.61) mega-tons of carbon dioxide (Mt CO₂). The carbon emissions of commercial building operations will peak in the year 2039 (±5) at 1364.31 (±258.70) Mt, with emission factors and energy intensity being the main factors influencing the carbon peak. To move toward carbon neutral status, an additional 169.73 Mt CO₂ needs to be cut by 2060, and the low emission path toward carbon neutrality will lead to the realization of the carbon peak of commercial buildings in 2024, with total emissions of 921.71 Mt. It is believed that cutting emissions from the operation of buildings in China will require a multi-sectoral synergistic strategy. It is suggested that government, residents, enterprises, and other stakeholders must better appreciate the challenges to achieve a substantial carbon reduction and the need for urgent action in the building sector in order to achieve carbon neutrality.

As a major contributor to global energy consumption and carbon emissions, the building sector plays a pivotal role in achieving carbon peaking and neutrality targets. This study systematically reviews the evolution of research on building stock energy conservation and emission reduction (BSECER) from 1992 to 2025, which is based on a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 2643 publications. The analysis highlights the research contributions of countries, institutions, and scholars in the BSECER field, reveals patterns in collaborative networks, and identifies the development and shifting focus of research topics over time. The findings indicate that current BSECER research centers around four main areas: behavioral efficiency optimization, full life cycle carbon management, urban system transformation, and the integration of intelligent technologies, which collectively form a multiscale emission reduction framework from individual behavior to large-scale systems. Building on these insights, this study outlines five key future research directions: advancing comprehensive carbon neutrality technologies, accelerating the engineering application of intelligent technologies, developing innovative multi-scenario policy simulation tools, overcoming integration challenges in renewable energy systems, and establishing an interdisciplinary platform that links health, behavior, and energy conservation.