SCOTLAND’S new Finance Secretary came under fire today after admitting that almost half of the £1.8 billion announced in the government’s draft budget for low-carbon capital investment is already being spent on existing projects.

Kate Forbes was quizzed by the Green MSP Mark Ruskell during a meeting of the Climate Change Committee about the proposals, which he said was the equivalent of “standing still.”

A letter sent to the committee by Ms Forbes outlining each line of spending — separating them into low, medium or high-carbon investments — showed £894 million would be spent on the ScotRail franchise, rail infrastructure, ferries, canals and the Ferguson Marine shipyard.

All of the previous commitments were classed as being “low carbon” investments in the letter.

The Scottish government’s head of energy supply chain, David Stevenson, also giving evidence, claimed there was a £500 million investment which “directly responds to the climate emergency,” including a heat transition deal.

But Mr Ruskell pointed out there was not £1.8 billion available for the reduction of emissions, as claimed in the budget.

He said: “Do any of those actually reduce emissions? Because if they’re just keeping the trains running as they are, how is that actually contributing towards targets?

“Where is the evidence of carbon reduction that is driving that policy?”

Ms Forbes told the committee there was new funding available to invest in new projects.

She said: “Whilst the projects that you may have mentioned there may be existing […] £500 million more is being spent on low-carbon infrastructure than had been spent the previous year.”

The Finance Secretary also said there was a “significant increase” in low carbon infrastructure, while admitting there wasn’t “an unlimited supply of money.”