By sporting a glittery face tattoo at the recent Wilderness Festival, Bank of England governor Mark Carney proved himself to be a bit more hip than some of his predecessors. But can he really have much in common with a group of high-profile actors, artists and authors?

If his views on climate change are anything to go by the answer is yes. Oscar-winning actor Mark Rylance may have recently led the likes of artist Conrad Atkinson, composer Matthew Herbert and author Naomi Klein in calling for oil giant BP to halt its sponsorship of cultural institutions such as the British Museum, Royal Opera House and Royal Shakespeare Company, but Carney has long spoken out against the fossil fuel industry.

Yet while the governor has repeatedly made it clear that he believes fossil fuels to be the “tragedy on the horizon” of future financial stability, is there anything the public at large can do about it?

Huw Davies, head of retail banking at Triodos Bank, believes there is. One of a handful of so-called ethical banks to spring up in the 1980s, the Netherlands-headquartered institution is at the forefront of a carbon divestment campaign that is encouraging consumers to choose financial products from institutions that not only actively eschew the fossil fuel industry but use customers’ deposits to invest in sustainable energy projects too.

“Our mission is to make money work for positive change in the environment and society,” he said. “What that means if you focus on the climate change side of things is that all the lending we do using our savers' money isn’t supporting fossil fuels. More importantly, we not only don’t invest in them but we are also active investors in renewable energy.”

Along with Charity Bank and Ecology Building Society, Triodos has been named by Ethical Consumer magazine as offering best-buy savings accounts and cash ISAs for consumers looking to divest their personal finances of exposure to fossil fuels.

Ethical Consumer editor Rob Harrison said the magazine is encouraging consumers to switch from banks such as Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander, which he calls “the biggest investors in climate change”, towards institutions that deliberately avoid the hydrocarbon industry.

“The carbon divestment movement started in US universities in 2009 and the idea was to try to restrict the capital available to oil companies in the same way as South African apartheid boycotts worked in the 1980s,” he said.

“We wanted to ask if there’s something we can do as individuals and to bring in ordinary people because it was individuals who brought about a shift in thinking in the South African boycotts. Our aim is to move the conversation into personal finance.”

The campaign does appear to be gaining some traction. John Ditchfield, an IFA at Castlefield Advisory Partners, which specialises in responsible investment, said that “more and more people are concerned about the impact that fossil fuel emissions are having on the planet”, with his business advising companies and individuals on how to ensure they are not investing in any oil and gas companies.

That said, he admits that “it’s not something that huge numbers of private individuals have made part of their approach yet”.

The difficulty in being truly divested could be playing a part in this, with Mr Ditchfield admitting that “when you talk about fossil fuel divestment you mean oil and gas companies”.

“What you’re not doing is removing other industries that might be part of the wider ecosystem around oil, such as petrochemicals,” he added.

“The modern capitalist economy is rooted in energy that is derived from fossil fuels.”

Another reason is that people simply do not consider that they could be contributing to the hydrocarbon industry when they deposit their money in banks. As Mr Davies at Triodos said: “If you ask people what happens with their money when they put it in the bank most don’t really know.”

However, he added: “There is a growing proportion of people who are thinking about where their food comes from and where their clothes are made and this is about shifting their mindset [in relation to personal finance as well].

“People who recycle or occasionally buy organic food can also think about where they put their money and where their pensions are invested.”

There is still some way to go before the movement makes any kind of real impact, with Triodos boasting just 600,000 customers across Europe against HSBC’s 45 million across the globe.

Given that the big banks are keen to make themselves heard in the climate debate too, there may not be enough of an incentive to make consumers switch.

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander all stressed the investments they are making in renewables projects as well as the importance of supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy.

A spokesperson for Lloyds said that, given the UK’s historic reliance on fossil fuels, the bank’s infrastructure investments do still support hydrocarbons “but will represent a decreasing proportion over time”.

Similarly, a spokesperson for HSBC said: “HSBC is committed to playing its part in combating climate change and working with clients to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Meanwhile, a Barclays spokesperson said: “Barclays considers environmental risks very carefully and is also an active lender and adviser to companies in the renewables and green energy sectors. We foresee a continued shift toward the development of cleaner energy sources globally in future.”