Energy and fuel security has come to the forefront of social discourse and political consideration over the past months, most significantly since the conflict in the Middle East commenced earlier this year.
The latest Resources and Energy Quarterly, issued by the Office of the Chief Economist earlier this month, contained resource and energy export forecasts which have been “revised up sharply” for 2025–26 and 2026–27 since December, driven by higher commodity prices due to Middle East supply disruptions and strong gold prices. This included an alternate scenario if the impacts of Middle East trade disruptions take longer to normalise.[1] The report notes:
“Efforts to secure supply chains and energy independence are expected to reinforce the ongoing global energy transition and continued diversification of supply chains. Growth in renewable power generation and electrification is expected to boost the demand for metals such as copper, nickel, aluminium, steel, and lithium; rising nuclear power generation will sustain uranium demand. Uncertainty about shipping via the Strait of Hormuz will see alternate supply lines built…”[2]
This article considers key Australian government initiatives and announcements over the past month in this global context, reflecting accelerating international cooperation with the G7+ Alliance and India on critical minerals, uranium exports and energy security.
G7 critical minerals declaration strengthens supply chain resilience – 17 June 2026
In mid-June the G7 leaders signed a new declaration in France, which was expressly endorsed by Australia, giving new priority for cooperation on critical minerals as follows:[3]
- cooperating closely to advance production, processing and recycling projects across the entire supply chain, reducing dependency on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries
- financing and market structures through plurilateral trade agreements
- harmonized mechanisms for traceability and transparency of the origin of critical minerals, starting with lithium and nickel as pilots
- stockpiling, drawing on the International Energy Agency Critical Minerals Security Program and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security initiatives, and a potential joint cooperation mechanism to share data and alerts on future market stress or disruption
- recycling, and the circular economy of critical raw materials.
The declaration also annexed terms of a non-binding Critical Minerals Resilience and Production Alliance, building on the initial G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance established last year in Canada, and which Australia joined in March 2026.[4]
At the time of the declaration, Minister for Resources Madeleine King commented:
“Critical minerals and rare earths are vital for the renewable energy transition, but are also increasingly important to our defence and national security. The G7 declaration supports and follows the work Australia has been doing to build the sector and to stabilise global markets for materials which are crucial for our economic and national security.”
The Australia-India Annual Summit – July 2026 – Focus on critical minerals and uranium
On 9 July 2026, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the third Australia-India Annual Leaders' Summit in Melbourne, which resulted in several announcements to strengthen cooperation on energy security and supply chain resilience, with a particular focus on critical minerals and uranium production:
- Energy Security: issuing of a Joint Statement on Energy Security which committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience, including through accelerating the energy transition and promoting uptake of renewable energy resources, and recognising electrification of respective energy systems will be a valuable source of energy security in the future.[5]
- Critical Minerals: announcement of the establishment of a dedicated Critical Minerals Corridor to strengthen resilient supply chains and support growing demand for minerals essential to clean energy technologies, electric vehicles and advanced manufacturing, together with a refreshed Memorandum of Understanding between Geoscience Australia and the Geological Survey of India, providing a framework for science exchanges to support resource mapping and mineral exploration.[6]
- Uranium: signing of Administrative Arrangement to enable uranium exports from Australia to India for peaceful purposes under the 2015 Australia–India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. It will facilitate Australian uranium exports to India to help increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity, providing an additional market for the Australian resources sector.[7]
India has set a target of expanding its nuclear power generation capacity from approximately 8 GW to 100 GW by 2047.[8] In commenting on the Administrative Arrangement Prime Minister Modi noted that “Australia’s huge uranium reserves are directly connected to India’s nuclear journey.”[9]
Notably, in response to concerns over nuclear proliferation, the Australian Government emphasised that these exports would be strictly limited to use in civilian energy production, and subject to strict International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
Uranium - Growing strategic importance
Australia is the fourth largest exporter of uranium and the holder of the largest uranium reserves in the world (almost 1/3rd):[10]
Some countries classify uranium as a ‘critical mineral’ - in November 2025 the US added uranium back into its critical mineral list. Australia, with low domestic demand, does not categorise uranium as a ‘critical mineral’ or a ‘strategic mineral’. Access our insights on critical minerals here (including our update on Uranium, the energy transition & the nuclear fuel global supply chain).
While uranium is not a “critical mineral’ in Australia, growing international interest in nuclear power generation, which currently accounts for about 9% of electricity generation globally[11], means it is increasingly being reconsidered in a growing number of jurisdictions as a source of firm, low-emissions electricity and in terms of energy security, particularly across Europe and the US:
- EU: In March, the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen noted, in reference to nuclear power, that it was a ‘strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable affordable source of low-emissions power’, while being ‘completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports’ of fossil fuels[12]. In the same month the European Commission released its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) strategy[13]; and several countries over the past year have announced financial support applications or reviews for construction of new nuclear power reactors, including Poland, Sweden and France.[14]
- US: since the four nuclear-focussed Executive Orders were issued in May 2025, the US Department of Energy reports that there has been ‘an unprecedented transformation’ in the US nuclear energy industry, with a range of initiatives from development to expanding capacity as well as domestic enrichment (US$2.7b).[15]
Significantly more uranium will be required to meet this anticipated increased uptake of nuclear power generation, notwithstanding Australia itself does not have nuclear power generation. The announced arrangements between India and Australia are indicative of future opportunities for Australia as a primary exporter of uranium, given its large resources and own policy settings, in the context of global prioritisation of low-carbon technologies and energy security.
Key takeaway - The rise of critical minerals diplomacy
- At the World Economic Forum in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney famously noted that the architecture of collective global problem solving (eg WTO, UN, COP) is under threat, and that “the middle powers must act together, because if we're not at the table, we're on the menu.”[16]
- Energy security concerns depend on multiple, often-unrelated factors, including increased energy demands, general fuel security issues, and critical mineral supply chains for the energy transition, electrification and defence. Those concerns are increasingly being sought to be addressed through governments entering into multi-faceted cooperative arrangements.
- In October 2025 the United States–Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths was agreed between the US and Australia, and the next month, Australia and Canada signed the non-binding Joint Declaration of Intent on Critical Minerals Collaboration. Then in March this year, Australia and Canada announced further commitments and partnerships in critical minerals, defence, AI, and clean energy, with Australia also joining the G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance as noted above.
- Australia’s most recent announcements regarding the G7 Critical Mineral Alliance and July arrangements with India are the latest examples of the bilateral and multilateral arrangements which will drive Australian domestic energy and critical minerals policy and investment.
