The June 2026 communiqué released following the 11th Energy Ministers’ Meeting held under India’s BRICS chairmanship reflected a growing recognition among the member countries about the need to rethink energy security beyond the reliance on traditional energy sources such as oil and the long-held drive to secure global supply chains. It visibly emphasises strengthening domestic infrastructure across partner nations, intra-organisational collaboration, and transitioning towards renewable energy through the strategic application of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

This represents the anticipated next step forward in fostering sustainable energy security, inclusive energy governance, and energy resilience for organisational members, building on the pathway laid down by India at the BRICS Energy Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Brazil in May 2025. This development is especially important against the backdrop of successive maritime and global energy supply chain disruptions since 2023, ranging from the crisis in the Red Sea to the events in the Strait of Hormuz this year.

The growing emphasis on moving away from dependence on global energy supply chains vulnerable to cascading effects from armed hostilities and partial or persistent disruptions in key maritime trade and transit routes has become even more significant when contextualised within the recent escalation in the Russia–Ukraine crisis. More recently, in July 2026, commercial shipping came to a complete halt due to relentless drone strikes against Russian gas and oil tankers in the Sea of Azov, resulting in a surge in global wheat prices. On 15 July, European wheat prices surged by 7 per cent, to €231.75 (US$ 265) per metric ton.[1]

Reimagining Energy Security in BRICS

In his remarks at the 2025 Energy Ministers’ Meeting, the Union Minister of Power, Manohar Lal Khattar, emphasised energy security as “one of the most pressing current challenges” and linked this issue to long-held global concerns attached to “global development goals” as well as “economic stability and sustainability”.[2] One theme that featured in his remarks at the 2026 meeting and in the 2026 communiqué was trade in energy products in local currencies, wherever applicable.

The emphasis on trading in local currencies is an integral part of the shifting zeitgeist within the non-First World and non-petrodollar economies. This growing focus can be........

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