The energy landscape of the Indo-Pacific is being redrawn, and New Delhi has become the latest fulcrum. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, placing energy security at the centre of bilateral talks. The meeting, which also involved UK representatives in a trilateral capacity, underscores a coordinated push among Western allies to diversify supply chains and accelerate clean energy transitions in the face of geopolitical instability.
For context: India, the world's third-largest energy consumer, relies on imports for over 80% of its oil and 50% of its natural gas. This dependency has been weaponised in the past, most notably after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exposed the fragility of global energy networks. The US and UK have since prioritised energy resilience as a national security imperative, and India is now a critical partner in that strategy.
Rubio's visit was framed around “cooperation on energy security and technology transfers,” according to a US State Department statement. Modi’s office confirmed discussions included joint ventures in solar manufacturing, grid-scale battery storage, and small modular nuclear reactors. The latter is a particular area of interest: India currently operates 22 nuclear reactors, but its ambitions to triple nuclear capacity by 2030 have been hampered by regulatory hurdles and supply chain bottlenecks. US and UK technology could accelerate that timeline.
The timing is no coincidence. Europe is still reeling from the loss of Russian gas, and the US has become the world’s top LNG exporter. But the Biden administration (and now the Rubio-led State Department under President Trump) has been clear: LNG is a bridge, not a destination. The real prize is a post-carbon grid, and India is where the battle will be won or lost. By 2040, India is expected to add the equivalent of the entire EU’s power capacity. If that build-out is fossil-fuel heavy, global climate targets collapse. If it is clean, we have a fighting chance.
Data from the International Energy Agency shows that India’s solar capacity has grown by a factor of 18 over the past decade, yet coal still supplies 70% of its electricity. The path forward is not about eliminating coal overnight but about ensuring that every new megawatt is renewable or nuclear. That requires capital, technology, and geopolitical will. Today’s meeting signals that the US and UK are willing to provide the first two, but they demand the third from India: a clear commitment to reducing fossil fuel subsidies and opening its energy markets to foreign competition.
Critics argue that the US itself is hardly a paragon of climate virtue, having approved record numbers of oil and gas drilling permits under the current administration. But Rubio’s rhetoric in Delhi was clear: “We cannot solve the climate crisis without India, and we cannot secure global stability without energy independence for all.” It is a message that resonates in New Delhi, where memories of energy price shocks from the Ukraine war remain fresh.
What does this mean for the UK? As a former colonial power with deep trade ties to India, Britain sees itself as a bridge between the West and South Asia. The UK’s involvement in today’s talks was low-key but significant: a joint statement on “clean energy innovation” is expected within weeks. British firms like Rolls-Royce are already in talks to deploy mini-nuclear reactors in India, and UK-based solar developers see India as a key growth market.
The real test will be execution. India’s bureaucracy is notoriously slow, and its state-owned energy companies have resisted reform. But the geopolitical imperative is accelerating timelines. Rubio’s visit was short, but its signal was long: energy security is no longer a secondary issue. It is the lens through which all alliances are now viewed.
For the planet, the stakes are existential. For the trilateral partnership, the stakes are equally high: a failure to deliver clean energy at scale would be a loss of trust that reverberates far beyond the energy sector.
