China's Ministry of Land and Resources will hold a ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday to mark the 41st World Earth Day.

With the theme "Cherishing the earth's resources, transforming the mode of development and living a low-carbon lifestyle," the Internet campaign aims to generate new ideas, especially among the younger generation, the ministry said on its website Wednesday.

The ministry urged its branches nationwide to seize upon Earth Day 2010 as an opportunity to promote the idea of resource-saving.

China faces a severe per-capita resource shortage. The lack of resources is aggravated by the need for economic development.

Earth Day is an important time "to remind us of what we can do to save energy and reduce emissions," the statement said.

China set up the National Energy Commission, a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao, in January this year to better coordinate energy policy as the heavy use of fossil fuels has created severe environmental problems while rapid economic growth coupled with poor policy had led to occasional fuel shortages.

The country is aiming to slash carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in 2020 by up to 45 percent from the 2005 level. It also plans to raise the proportion of non-fossil energy in total primary energy consumption to 15 percent.

China's investment in the environmental protection sector during the 11th Five-Year Plan period was 1.4 trillion yuan (205.3 billion U.S. dollars). It is expected to more than double to reach 3.1 trillion yuan in China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, according to the official data.