Critical Review of Cost-Benefit Analysis for Climate-Neutral Infrastructure: Addressing Policy Challenges in Europe

Climate change challenges infrastructure resilience, necessitating environmentally mitigative projects. Traditional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) often inadequately assesses long-term sustainability. In Europe, despite academic discussions, regulatory frameworks and CBAs frequently overlook these aspects. This paper identifies legislative gaps in evaluating infrastructure projects’ economic and environmental impacts, advocating for improved methodologies that integrate climate resilience and long-term sustainability. It also recommends using variable discount rates to better assess environmental impacts, highlighting the need for strategic policies tailored to the European context.