Top scientists have called on Sadiq Khan to drop plans for the Silvertown Tunnel as it could undermine the UK’s efforts to address climate change.

The £1.2 billion project, which will link Silvertown and Greenwich Peninsula, will encourage driving, “exacerbating local air pollution problems”, according to the letter.

The 51 signatories argue that the UK needs to “prioritise modal shift and public transport” rather than expanding the road network if it is to meet its climate goals.

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The letter reads: “As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, long-term transport projections have changed.

“In these circumstances, it would be foolhardy to press ahead with an infrastructure project that can only contribute to the UK’s excessive greenhouse gas emissions – as well as skewing London’s transport system further towards roads, and exacerbating local air pollution problems.”

The letter is signed by climate professors from top universities, including Joanna Haigh, Kevin Anderson and Jaise Kuriakose.

It is also signed by transport experts, economists, physicists and activists.

Ahead of hosting the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference this November, the Government decided to review the licencing of a new deep coal mine in Cumbria.

The experts argue the same approach should be taken to Silvertown, as the climate emergency requires both that emissions are cut and that infrastructure projects that could raise emissions are avoided.

The letter continues: “Transport emissions are a major part of the problem: they are rising while emissions from other sectors are falling.

“This can not be addressed mainly by electrification. Transport strategy in London, and the UK as a whole, needs to prioritise modal shift and public transport, not further expansion of the unsustainable road network.”

Supporters of the development say it will cut congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, which is closed hundreds of times a year.

Opposition to the project locally is longstanding.

Just last week, campaigners jet-washed the message "Stop the Tunnel" onto the Thames Embankment near its proposed location.

A spokesperson for TfL said: “The Silvertown Tunnel will tackle congestion, reduce idling cars standing in traffic, and importantly increase cross-river bus services.

“Bus crossings are currently severely restricted by the Blackwall Tunnel, built more than 100 years ago.

“Plans for the Silvertown Tunnel have a clear focus on cleaner transport, with at least 20 zero-emission buses running in either direction from the day the tunnel opens, and the crossing being located within the extended Ultra Low Emission Zone.”

You can view the full letter here