Quitol (Goa): India has emerged as the decisive driver of global energy demand growth, with its scale, pace and diversity of consumption increasingly shaping how energy systems are built and financed worldwide, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates and Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC, said on Tuesday.
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Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of India Energy Week (IEW) 2026, Al Jaber said the sheer scale of the event itself reflected a deeper shift underway in global energy markets. “The sheer size of this event reflects the simple fact that India increasingly sits at the center of global energy growth,” he said.
Al Jaber said global energy debates are often dominated by near-term volatility, but argued that policymakers and investors must focus on longer-term structural change. “Some of you look at today’s energy landscape and see volatility… shifting supply dynamics… geopolitical shocks,” he said. “Let me tell you how I view it. I see it differently.”
“Behind the current turbulence is a bigger picture of transformation at scale,” he added, warning that “transformation rewards those who move boldly, not those who wait for calm seas.” He said the defining story of energy today is growth, driven by three powerful megatrends.
“One: the rise of emerging markets, led by Asia and India. Two: the exponential growth of AI and the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure. And three: the transformation of energy systems — not a formula based on a single source, but an integration of many.”
“Over the next fifteen years, air travel in India will grow by 150 percent. India’s cities will approach one billion people. And its data center capacity will increase ten-fold,” he said.
Together, he said, these forces are driving “the largest expansion of energy demand in human history — faster, broader and more complex than anything we have seen before.”
Al Jaber said India sits at the heart of all three megatrends, not just as a fast-growing market but as a system-shaping one. “At the heart of all three megatrends sits one nation — and that is India,” he said.
As the world’s third-largest energy consumer, India has become “a decisive driver of global demand,” he added, pointing to the scale of change underway in transport, cities and digital infrastructure.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projections underline that shift. In its World Energy Outlook 2024, the IEA said India is on track to add more than 12,000 cars a day through 2035 under existing policy settings, while built-up space is expected to increase by over one billion square metres annually — more than the total built space of South Africa.
Al Jaber drew particular attention to electricity demand growth, noting that while data centres and AI receive significant focus, other forces are reshaping energy markets just as rapidly. “Everyone wants to talk about the power required for data centres and AI,” he said. “Let me give you two additional letters that will reshape energy markets just as fast: AC (airconditioners).”
The IEA projects that India’s stock of air conditioners will grow by more than 4.5 times by 2035, pushing electricity demand from cooling alone beyond Mexico’s total expected power consumption that year.
Industrial demand is also set to rise sharply. By 2035, India’s iron and steel production is projected to grow by about 70 percent, while cement output is expected to increase by nearly 55 percent, the IEA said. Overall, India’s total energy demand is projected to rise by nearly 35 percent by 2035.
Citing long-term trends, Al Jaber noted that between now and 2040, oil demand is expected to remain above 100 million barrels per day (mbpd), while demand for LNG and electricity is set to climby by 50 percent, reinforcing the need for sustained investment across energy systems.
Against this backdrop, Al Jaber warned that the greatest risk facing global energy markets is not excess supply, but insufficient investment. “Demand at this scale and pace requires investment in all forms of energy,” he said. “The biggest risk is not over-supply. It is under-investment.”
He said the transition underway should be understood as one of energy addition rather than substitution, pointing out that even as electric vehicle sales rise globally, demand for conventional fuels continues to grow. “What we are really seeing play out is energy addition,” Al Jaber said.
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For India, he argued, growth at this pace requires a different kind of engagement from global partners. “Progress at this scale demands a special kind of partnership — strategic, long-term, agile and flexible,” he said, adding that trust and consistency would be critical as India’s energy needs expand.