MAG brings together leading researchers from different disciplines and countries, together with a network of collaborators, to assess the geo-physical and economic aspects of pollution control. Within this interdisciplinary framework, MAG uses advanced methodologies:

• To capture interactions between pollution control and economic development; and
  
• To identify cost-effective pollution-control strategies that put the least burden on economic development. It is this special focus on the implications for economic policies of controlling air pollution and mitigating greenhouse gases, and vice versa, that distinguishes the work of MAG.

MAG develops advanced methodologies to systematically identify pollution control strategies that put least cost to the economy while maximizing a wide range of environmental benefits. Subsequently, the team implements such methodologies for different world regions to enable policy-relevant analyses.

The GAINS (Greenhouse gas - Air pollution Interactions and Synergies) model constitutes the backbone of MAG's analysis.