I'll echo the two previous comments that the art style is very impressive. I'll also add praise for the decision to a do a (very fun looking!) paper prototype, it's a great way to consider how the game feels to play while still constructing the engine. The balance notes and AI wireframe were interesting to read and seem well considered; overall the project seems to be progressing well. I'd give the slight warning to make sure that the balancing process doesn't lead to muddying the themes - for example, the patch notes seem to suggest you're buffing the amount carbon incentives "heal the environment", but carbon credits + carbon accounting more broadly have been heavily criticised by environmentalists for being a sleight of hand that allows corporate greenwashing. For example, Xander Dunlap:
"The reductive approach of carbon performs three functions. First, it allows the minimization of ecological and climate catastrophes, providing conservative assessments of regarding the impact of the techno-capitalist development. Second, it enables half-hearted mitigation schemes, such as conservation "offsets", ecotourism and low-carbon infrastructures, which collaborate with mining companies and further integrate ecosystems into economic and financial circuits. Thirdly, it enables the gymnastics of statistics and modelling, which offers reassurances, but also distracts from questioning the existing intensifying trajectory of production, consumption and profiteering. Carbon accounting, then, emerges as an essential technology in legitimizing the socio-political catastrophe."
Apologies, I know that's a long quote for a minor critique (especially one based on a guessed mechanic)! Good luck with the next stages, I look forward to playing your production submission.