The transportation sector is one of the main sources of global carbon emissions. As a major transportation country, China faces enormous challenges in transportation carbon emission reduction. In recent years, scholars have carried out extensive research on carbon emission accounting and emission reduction measures. Focusing on the highway construction stage, this paper reviews previous studies from three aspects: carbon emission accounting, emission-end carbon reduction, and carbon sequestration-end compensation. The results show that most carbon emission accounting methods use the LCAlife cycle theorymodel, running through the entire highway construction stage. Among them, basic data accounting is concentrated on the emission factor method, as well as tools such as software and platforms combined with artificial intelligence. Emission-end carbon reduction mainly revolves around three aspects: green geotechnical technology, solid waste resource utilization technology, and green and efficient engineering management, achieving the goal of carbon reduction from the source. Carbon compensation research includes carbon sequestration-end compensation measures and carbon sequestration effect evaluation. Carbon compensation measures focus on two aspects: using photosynthesis of slope vegetation to sequester carbon and using new materials to increase carbon sinks. Carbon sequestration effects are evaluated using a combination of subjective and objective analysis methods. Through analysis, it is found that current research still has problems that urgently need to be solved, such as the lack of unified standards for emission factors, which leads to large accounting errors; the lack of comprehensive evaluation methods for the specific emission reduction ratios of emission reduction measures, and insufficient integration with artificial intelligence; carbon compensation measures are not rich enough, and carbon sequestration effect evaluation methods are highly subjective. Future research should focus on the accuracy of accounting methods; propose more effective carbon emission reduction measures and strengthen research on emission reduction effect evaluation; adopt more diversified carbon compensation measures and establish generally applicable compensation effect evaluation methods. This review paper can provide a more comprehensive reference for carbon emission reduction research in the transportation geotechnical field and help achieve the "dual carbon" strategic goals.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the composition of carbon emissions from highway construction

Fig. 2 Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of commonly used carbon emission accounting methods

Fig. 3 Theories and methods for carbon emission accounting in highway construction

Fig. 4 Green geotechnical technology

Fig. 5 Resource utilization of solid waste

Fig. 6 Energy consumption management model for earthworks

Fig. 7 Carbon reduction measures at the emission end of highway geotechnical engineering

Fig. 8 Schematic diagram of the carbon sequestration role of slope vegetation

Fig. 9 Application of new carbon sequestration materials on slopes

Fig. 10 Research on carbon compensation at the carbon sequestration end of highway geotechnical engineering