Remember that the person you are speaking to has been instructed not to give a personal opinion and to ask you to contact via email or a general enquiries number. It’s still worth speaking to them and telling them why you care. These phone calls might feel awkward and difficult at first but don't worry.
Do your best to elicit a response from the operator and stay on the line as long as possible!
Hi. I’m trying to find out more about what the Bank of England is doing to help tackle climate change. Could you help, or put me through to someone who can?
- What is the Bank of England’s position on UK banks funding fossil fuels and other harmful industries? Does the Bank agree that this is a problem?
- In a few days, the UK will host the UN Climate conference and world leaders need to agree to keep fossil fuels in the ground in order to achieve their target of limiting global heating to 1.5°C. What is the Bank of England doing to ensure the UK banking system stops financing fossil fuel projects?
- Why does the Bank of England still buy bonds from fossil fuel companies and other highly polluting industries? In 2020, Andrew Bailey said that decarbonising the Bank’s bond purchases was a priority. But nothing seems to have been done. Why not?
- The UK claims to be a global climate leader, and it is hosting the biggest climate conference this year. Yet its biggest financial institutions - banks like Barclays and HSBC - are some of the biggest funders of fossil fuels globally. Research shows that Barclays is one of the top five funders of the coal industry, for example. Why hasn’t the Bank of England done more to change this?
- The Bank of England’s own leaders have said that climate change poses a huge risk to the financial system. So why aren’t you doing more to help tackle it?
- All I've heard about are ‘climate stress tests’, and the Bank of England encouraging banks and financial institutions to disclose their exposure to carbon intensive industries. What does this mean and how is it actually going to solve the problem?
- Framing yourself as a person who has exhausted all channels and just wants to be heard can be a useful tactic. This can help alleviate the weirdness of calling the ‘wrong’ phone number
- Stay on phone for as long as possible
- Ask lots of questions
- Be friendly, but also persistent
- Ask where your concerns can be addressed if not by this operator, or if your concerns can be passed on to a decision-maker
To see some possible responses to things the Bank might say, check out our FAQs here.