As net-zero energy buildings become increasingly achievable, decarbonization efforts have shifted toward reducing carbon emissions across the full building life cycle, including embodied carbon (EC) due to construction. This study integrates a global meta-analysis of 197 new-build cases with an optimization framework to quantify the mitigation potential of current technologies and project future pathways to meet net-zero carbon targets in 2050. Results show that, compared to Business-as-Usual (BAU), Advanced-Building-Technology (TECH-Build) solutions can reduce upfront EC by an average of around 46%, equivalent to savings of 236 kgCO₂e/m². Key mitigation strategies were further assessed, with low-carbon materials, circular economy practices, digital optimization, and construction management, contributing up to 59%, 40%, 35%, and 2% reductions, respectively. A science-based target-setting approach indicates that EC intensity must decline by roughly 13% annually to remain within the 2025–2050 carbon budget allocation of 20.2 GtCO₂e for the construction sector, converging to around 17.5 kgCO₂e/m² by mid-century. Current TECH-Build performance already aligns with 2029 globally and 2030 in Europe, but falls short thereafter in the absence of accelerated adoption. Complementarily, with the adoption of Bayesian Optimization, an optimal dual-pathway was identified: an annual reduction rate of nearly 10.5% in EC intensity and a 7% annual growth in TECH-Build penetration. Moreover, scenario analysis shows that a carbon-budget-aligned trajectory is feasible only when low-carbon material technologies hold a dominant share of approximately 60% within synergistic TECH-Build scenarios. This model projects decarbonization pathways to mid-century, highlighting the near-term potential of current technologies and the need for dynamic, budget-aligned benchmarks to guide policy and codes. Our study recommends prioritizing, in the short term, the deployment of low-carbon materials (e.g., biogenic resources, decarbonized cement) as the most cost-effective strategy, and in the long term, accelerating the transition of Energy Performance Certificates toward classes A–B.