Sustainable Economic Development

Examining the listed sectors:
1. **Affordable housing:** Providing adequate and affordable housing is a key component of sustainable urban development (SDG 11) and poverty reduction (SDG 1). Sustainable infrastructure initiatives often include housing projects.
2. **Mass rapid transport:** Developing efficient and sustainable public transport systems is crucial for sustainable cities (SDG 11), reducing emissions (SDG 13), and facilitating economic activity. It is a major area of focus for sustainable infrastructure investment.
3. **Health care:** Building and improving healthcare infrastructure (hospitals, clinics, supply chains) is fundamental to achieving good health and well-being (SDG 3). Sustainable infrastructure initiatives recognize the importance of resilient and accessible health facilities.
4. **Renewable energy:** Investing in renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, etc.) is vital for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy (SDG 7) and combating climate change (SDG 13). This is a core focus area for sustainable infrastructure investment globally, including for S3i.

Based on the mandate and typical focus areas of sustainable infrastructure development initiatives like UNOPS S3i which are aligned with the SDGs, all four sectors listed are critical areas for investment. UNOPS has indeed been involved in projects and partnerships related to these sectors through its S3i initiative. Therefore, the initiative focuses its investments on all four of the listed infrastructure sectors.

Statement-II claims that carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State. This statement is a partial truth and can be misleading as a general description of carbon markets. While mechanisms like auctioning of emission allowances in a cap-and-trade system or collecting carbon taxes *do* transfer resources from polluting entities (often private sector) to the government (State), a significant part of the activity in carbon markets involves trading allowances or credits *between* private sector entities. For example, in a cap-and-trade system, a company that has reduced emissions below its allowance can sell its surplus allowances to a company that needs more allowances. This is a transfer of resources within the private sector. Similarly, buying carbon offsets from a project developed by a private entity involves private-to-private transfer. Therefore, stating that carbon markets *transfer resources from the private sector to the State* as a general characteristic is not accurate as it omits the significant private-to-private resource transfers. Thus, Statement-II is incorrect as a comprehensive description.

Since Statement-I is correct and Statement-II is incorrect, option C is the correct answer. Statement-II cannot be the explanation for Statement-I because the mechanism of resource transfer (even if it were accurately described) does not explain *why* carbon markets are widespread tools; they are widespread because they are seen as an economically efficient way to achieve emission reduction targets.