Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday stressed the need for “equity” in global climate change negotiations and said economic growth should not harm the environment. At his meeting in Delhi with the environment ministers of the BASIC countries, Brazil, South Africa, India and China, Singh is learnt to have said that the principle of equity should be the goal of future negotiations. Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan had described “equity” as a non-negotiable principle for India in global climate talks during the conference of parties in Durban, South Africa. The visiting environment ministers informed the Prime Minister that the BASIC nations played a “constructive role” in Durban and commended India’s role played in bringing equity back on the global climate negotiation platform, sources said. The two-day meeting will discuss a united strategy for future negotiations with focus on equity, they said.