Europe is on the brink of radical change. European legislation and policy, such as the Green Deal and new rules on industry and emissions, promise a sustainable and fair future. But whether those promises will actually be fulfilled is far from certain. Who benefits from new green policies? Who bears the burden? And what impact will European climate legislation have on poorer countries and the extraction of raw materials worldwide? Ioannis Kampourakis, Associate Professor of Law and Markets at Erasmus School of Law, has received a grant of nearly €4.5 million from the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks 2025 for the project Reconfiguring Europe: Law and Political Economy of the Green Transition (LPE-GREEN). Through this project, he is bringing together nine European universities in a doctoral network to research how the law shapes the European green transition and how to make this transition more fair and effective.
LPE-GREEN continues and deepens the work of the network Law and Political Economy in Europe. Law and Political Economy (LPE) is a direction of scholarship that builds on the premise that laws and regulations determine who holds power and who benefits within the economy. From this perspective, the project investigates when market mechanisms are effective, and when more far-reaching changes to legislation and regulations are needed to ensure that the green transition is fair to vulnerable groups as well.
LPE-GREEN: a unique European PhD network
LPE-GREEN is the first European research programme to focus on the intersection of law, political economy and the green transition. Researchers are studying how to analyse green transition policies from legal and economic perspectives, in collaboration with policymakers and professionals. This enables them to assess whether these policies are fair, effective and future-proof. The research programme focuses on three interlinked thematic areas: production, natural resources and finance.
LPE-GREEN ties in with Kampourakis’s ongoing VENI research, in which he is studying how European policy on critical resources is reshaping the economy. The MSCA network builds on the same themes but has a broader scope and covers topics such as labour relations, food systems, energy, and monetary policy.
Working together towards a sustainable future for everyone
LPE-GREEN builds on the existing LPE in Europe-community and the organically developed research collaboration within it. The LPE in Europe network is co-led by Ioannis Kampourakis and Anna Chadwick of the University of Glasgow who, together with Marco Goldoni, steered the application process. In addition to Erasmus School of Law, the University of Glasgow, the University of Antwerp, the University of Warsaw, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, the University of Würzburg, Copenhagen Business School, Sciences Po, and Nova University of Lisbon are involved in the project. Associated partners such as Harvard Law School, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, ClientEarth, Common Wealth and the European Commission’s DG GROW strengthen the link between academia, policy and society. In time the network will create fifteen new PhD positions across the partner institutions while developing a comprehensive training programme.
Not just describing but contributing to the sustainability transition
LPE-GREEN aims not only to generate new scientific knowledge but also to make a concrete contribution to society. To this end, the network brings together scientists, civil society organisations and policymakers. Together, they are working on proposals for a fairer and more effective green transition. The research findings can help policymakers identify and address bottlenecks in existing legislation. In this way, the project contributes to a green transition that is not only sustainable but also takes into account the consequences for different groups in society. The project will run for 48 months and will be coordinated by Kampourakis. .
Kampourakis has expressed his delight at being awarded the grant: "I was very happy to receive the news that the grant had been awarded. Seeing the LPE in Europe community grow over the past few years has been extremely rewarding. As such, my first thought was that this grant offers a possibility to further expand, institutionalise, and consolidate the work that we have been doing for the past four years, while also opening new intellectual pathways and avenues for collaboration with academics and civil society. Ultimately, my hope is that the emerging MSCA doctoral network fosters a socially embedded and transformative approach to legal research, grounded in the idea that law should actively contribute to socio-ecological change rather than merely describe it.''
- Associate professor
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Find more information on the LPE website.
