Boris Johnson's climate tsar has revealed that he still drives a diesel car as the Government face a growing Tory rebellion over its plans to save the planet.
Alok Sharma, the COP26 president, admitted on BBC Newsnight that he does not yet have an electric car despite ministers pushing for the public to switch away from gas-guzzlers to help tackle climate change.
The admission came as a devastating UN report warned this week that unless countries take urgent action they will permanently destroy our environment.
Mr Sharma told BBC Newsnight: "I actually have a diesel car along with millions of other people.
"I don't drive it very much. I take public transport from Reading into London every day.
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"I can assure you my next car will most certainly be an electric vehicle."
The Government's 54-strong fleet of chauffeur-driven cars for ministers use a variety of fuels.
While 19 are hybrid and 16 are electric, a further 7 are petrol while 12 - almost a quarter - still run on diesel, according to Department for Transport figures.
The Cabinet Office, run by Michael Gove, uses 3 diesel cars, as well as 3 hybrid and 6 electric.
The "greenest" departments for ministerial cars are the DfT, the Home Office, the Attorney General's office and the Department for Business, which only use electric and hybrid cars.
Just Gavin Williamson's Department for Education and Therese Coffey's Department for Work and Pensions have only petrol and diesel vehicles.
It comes after the PM's COP spokesperson Allegra Stratton also revealed that she drives a diesel vehicle - and admitted she was reluctant to switch to electric until there are more charging points.
Two separate polls show that Brits believe the Government should do more to tackle climate change in the UK.
But the Prime Minister faces a backlash from new Tory MPs in 'red wall' seats over his green agenda ahead of the landmark COP26 summit in November.
Leaked messages from a Tory Whatsapp group, published by The Sun showed MPs grumbling over the electoral cost of green policies.
Tory MP Karl McCartney said: "All the builders, mechanics, petrol-heads and even EV lovers across the country will be rolling their eyes at this ‘idealism."
Former Minister Jackie Doyle-Price chipped in: “The reason we have won Red Wall seats is because Labour lost working class voters over decades as the party has become increasingly metropolitan.
"We won’t keep those voters if they see us behaving in the same way."
A new backbench group has been set up by Thanet MP Craig MacKinlay, who warned the Government couldn't afford to alienate voters despite the urgent climate crisis.
Meanwhile, ministers are said to be looking at downgrading proposals to ban new gas boilers from 2035 amid fears about the costs for homeowners.
