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To tackle the climate challenge, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) recently launched initiatives to start large-scale investment in carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), an important approach to achieve zero emissions. Experts on Wednesday noted that China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region possesses advantages in cost and basic facilities.

OGCI is a CEO-led initiative made up of 13 world-classic oil and gas giants, which aims to drive industry response to climate change. The organization on Monday launched a new initiative which aimed to help decarbonize multiple industrial hubs globally, including one in Xinjiang, China, according to a statement from OGCI.

The Junggar Basin in Xinjiang presents key characteristics for carbon dioxide storage, and is located near major emissions sources, said the statement.

"High cost is a major obstacle of CCUS, and Xinjiang has advantages in terms of production costs," Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In addition, Xinjiang has large-scale oil fields which could be used to store carbon dioxide, Lin said.

CCUS could reduce emissions on a significant scale in both the industrial and power sectors, and support the emergence of key technologies such as clean hydrogen, said OGCI.

In order to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and support the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the new CCUS initiative began with five industrial hubs in China, the US, and other countries.

Lin noted that the CCUS is still in its early phases, though a necessary move for the development of oil and gas industries, especially when tackling severe climate challenges.