The plan was outlined in a report entitled "Development Planning of Territorial Resources for Scientific Innovation during the 13th Five-Year Plan," issued recently by the Ministry of Land and Resources, official media here reported.
"Just two per cent of the resources from between three and 10 kms beneath Chinese territory could be enough for us to use for over 5,000 years," Dong Shuwen, former deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, at the National Land and Resources Scientific Innovation Conference said.
"We will unswervingly implement the strategy of sustainable development, adhere to the green low-carbon development cycle, adhere to the basic national policy of saving resources and protecting the environment," Chinese President, Xi Jinping said in his speech at the B20, held a day ahead of just concluded G20 summit in Hangzhou.
"We promote green development, but also to take the initiative to address climate change and overcapacity. The next five years, China Unit GDP water consumption, energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions will drop by 23 per cent, 15 per cent, 18 per cent," he said.
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In the next three to five years coal production capacity will be cut by 500 million tonnes, he said.
Chinese officials however believe that China need to make effective use of underground space. Singapore and Japan utilise space up to 200 meters below ground.
However, China's current average utilisation is less than 50 meters; this means that in most cities, there are at least 150 meters of space yet to be exploited, the People's Daily report said.
When the prospective depth for oil and gas exploration will reach 10 kms underground, and new energies such as terrestrial heat will be exploited, it said.