The overwhelming majority of Swiss residents are satisfied with the quality of the environment in the area where they live, the Federal Statistics Office reported on Tuesday.

A study carried out in spring 2011 showed that 95 per cent of the population regarded the quality of their immediate environment as “very good” or “quite good” and 74 per cent of them regarded this as have a “strong” or “quite strong” impact on their quality of life.

But 17 per cent are “very bothered” or “quite bothered” by air pollution around their homes. The concern was highest in Italian-speaking Switzerland, where 31 per cent of people said they were bothered by it.

The study found people’s environmental behaviour in their daily lives varied greatly. While 45 per cent said they always reduced the heating if they were away for two or more days, 21 per cent said they never did, even if it was technically possible. When it comes to buying electrical equipment and lighting, 35 per cent always take the energy consumption into account, while 11 per cent never do.

In answer to questions about the dangers of various technologies and their impact on the environment, 47 per cent of people regarded nuclear power plants as “very dangerous”. (The accident at Fukushima had taken place six weeks before the start of the survey.) Loss of biodiversity was felt to be “very dangerous” by 37 per cent, while 33 per cent had the same level of concern about the rise in global temperatures as a result of climate change.

The use of genetic technology in food production was regarded as “very dangerous” by 30 per cent of the population, while only 14 per cent were equally concerned by its use in medicine and research.

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