What are the benefits and disadvantages of the Global Trust and Eden Initiative factions

The Global Trust tends to use much more efficient buildings for resource acquisition and powering structures, but at a cost of having a detrimental effect to the environment.

The most obvious one players will notice is the ability to mine iron and coal far more efficiently than the Eden Initiative. Their buildings tend to take up more space however, and generate a significantly worse impact on the ecosystem.

As your cities level up, you'll find that not only can Global Trust generate much more in resources, they also tend to generate a lot more funds than the Eden Initiative (they have Casinos).

You should decide carefully which pros and cons you feel better suited to playing with when deciding which faction to choose.

Eco-friendly, but weak in resources? Or industrious, but polluting?

Either way you play it, both sides have their pros and cons to balance each other out. They can be equally as difficult to work with.