“…In July 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission of China issued a notice to carry out low-carbon city pilot projects, which designated five provinces, including Guangdong and Yunnan, and eight cities, including Tianjin and Chongqing, as the first batch of low-carbon city pilot projects [4][5][6]. Subsequently, the second and third batches of low-carbon pilot areas were determined in 2012 and 2017, respectively, in order to alleviate the pressure of reducing carbon emissions and achieve the goal of economic green and sustainable development [7,8]. An economy's productive base includes not only its capital assets (stocks of manufactured, human, and natural capital and knowledge) but also its institutions (including its cultural Sustainability 2023, 15, 10392 2 of 21 coordinates) [3].…”