CLIMA Researcher Meng Zhang Awarded the Prestigious EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship in its 2024 Call
The Centre for Climate Change Law and Governance (CLIMA) at the University of Copenhagen is delighted to announce that Dr. Meng Zhang, currently a postdoctoral fellow specializing in climate and energy law at CLIMA, has been awarded the prestigious EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) European Postdoctoral Fellowship in its 2024 call. This highly competitive and prestigious fellowship recognizes early-career scholars’ potential to make significant contributions to academia, and the results for the 2024 call were officially announced by the European Commission in February 2025.
Under this fellowship, Meng will receive approximately EUR 250,000 over two years to conduct innovative research on his project, entitled “(EDUARDO) A ‘Game Changer’ in Greening Trade between the EU and China in a Polarized World: A Bilateral Soft-Law Paradigm”, under the supervison of Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera, the Head of CLIMA.
Meng’s project, EDUARDO, addresses one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing global green trade today — the need to reconcile economic growth with environmental stewardship, especially in an era of geopolitical polarization and the accelerating climate crisis. Drawing on a “bilateral soft-law paradigm,” this research explores how to achieve a paradigm change of green trade specifically between the EU and China, especially with the rise of new EU flagship trade-related environmental instruments such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Deforestation Regulation, and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR). By examining the feasibility, design, and implementation of soft-law approaches, Meng aims to offer actionable green trade strategies to address the triple planetary crisis — climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss — while further contributing to a global beacon in the ever-changing game of greening trade co-opetition.
The award marks a significant achievement for CLIMA’s endeavors to foster early-career researchers, underscoring the Centre’s commitment to world-class research and global collaboration in climate and energy law. Meng’s MSCA fellowship vividly illustrates CLIMA’s dedication to advancing scholarship and driving innovative solutions to address the pressing global environmental and climate challenges of our time.
“Meng’s success in receiving the EU MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship is a testament to CLIMA’s contributions and commitments in bridging trade and environmental governance towards a climate-neutrality world. We look forward to supporting him as he pursues this groundbreaking project, which resonates deeply with our mission at CLIMA,” said Beatriz.
About Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
As a crucial pillar of the EU Horizon Europe Programme, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are widely regarded as the European Union’s flagship funding programme for postdoctoral training of researchers. Its overarching goal is to support research careers and foster excellence across various disciplines and sectors. Securing an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship is not only a prestigious endorsement of a researcher’s potential but also an invaluable opportunity to develop advanced research skills, expand professional networks, and engage in interdisciplinary collaboration at the highest level.
