While the debate over diesels are better or worse for the environment rages, the UK’s Environment Agency is keeping faith with a fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles.

A Freedom of Information request from the Daily Mail has revealed that of the agency’s 5,330 vehicles, 3,356 are diesels, 750, petrol powered, 1,197 plug-in hybrids and just 27 pure electric.

However, despite the negative press which ‘dirty’ diesels are receiving, the Environment Agency’s own spokesman has said that all vehicles are selected based on both environmental and value for money grounds. A statement read: “We work all over the country to prevent or respond to drought, flooding and environmental incidents. We need a vehicle fleet that is fit for purpose.

“Our vehicles are selected on the basis of CO2 and NOx emissions, as well as operational effectiveness and value for money for the taxpayer. But it's our ambition for all our cars to be ultra-low emission no later than 2025.”

Despite the agency’s confidence that they are headed in the right direction, the organisation’s most recent mission statement contradicts its own actions claiming that they have ‘helped protect our waters, land and air from pollution’.

The news has drawn criticism from many environmental campaigners with Jenny Bates from Friends of the Earth demanding that the agency lives up to its own words. She told the Daily Mail: “You'd expect the Environment Agency to lead by example and, now that it's set its own net-zero emissions target, we hope it will follow up with proper policy to clean up its vehicle fleet.”

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