Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Across the Construction Project Lifecycle

Artificial intelligence (AI) has disrupted industries worldwide and is now revolutionising the construction industry (CI). It can advance the built environment (BE), particularly by addressing climate change (CC) concerns. Despite growing attention, a review that synthesises the outcomes of AI use in CI for climate change adaptation and mitigation (CCAM) remains lacking. This study reviews AI-enabled applications for CCAM in the CI, their opportunities, technological maturity, implementation barriers, limitations, and future research directions. A systematic literature review (SLR) is conducted in this study in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The SLR includes 206 articles published between 2015 and 2025. Bibliometric and detailed content analysis are performed. The findings indicate that AI can support CCAM across all stages of the construction project lifecycle, including material production, procurement, planning and design, construction operations, use and maintenance, and end-of-life (EoL) management. The review also highlights important challenges associated with AI systems, including data quality, interoperability, implementation costs, organisational readiness, regulatory uncertainty, and environmental footprint. The study further presents a conceptual framework (CF) that synthesises AI-enabled interventions across the construction project lifecycle and links them to CCAM outcomes, implementation feasibility, technological maturity, barriers, and potential adoption trade-offs. The framework identifies three principal pathways through which AI contributes to CCAM: cleaner, more resource-efficient energy consumption; decarbonisation of the BE and reduction of GHG emissions; and responsible production and consumption of resources. The study provides actionable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers on the opportunities, limitations, and implementation requirements of AI-enabled CCAM. It highlights potential contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) 11, 12, and 13.