According to the Stern Review, which was commissioned by the British government last year, property contributes around half of all man-made greenhouse gas production.

Jopling said the mass adoption of green designs and construction, though possible, was not yet viable.

"There remains the question of how and when we will reach the tipping point of development to the standard of zero-carbon homes at a mass scale," he said.

CBRE Hamptons International, a unit of CB Richard Ellis, assumed the cost of building a 650 square feet apartment in Britain was 105,700 pounds.

To make it a zero-carbon development it then incorporated some green features into the original design -- including a combined heat and power system, sky garden, natural ventilation and lighting, and energy-efficient appliances -- and calculated the total extra cost at 13,400 pounds.