The council has chosen to stick with its plan to spend £1.8m on 22 new HVO/biodiesel minibuses. The council officers said the existing fleet was “beyond their economic working life”.

The plan was made in July 2020, before the council promised to be “carbon neutral” by 2030. Some Greenwich councilors said they were “baffled” by the plan and said it went against the promise.

They also said the vehicles would be worth very little by 2030. Labour councilor Rachel Taggart-Ryan said she was worried about the carbon impact of biofuel and said it was a “big con” and a “bit of greenwash”.

The documents from the council said that biodiesel minibuses would be much cheaper than electric vehicles, with the cost estimated at less than £3.4m.

Labour councilor Averil Lekau said the council had to “work within our budget”. The sub-committee agreed to go ahead with the plan to buy the vehicles.