Glossary | Climate Lexicon E

Earth Overshoot Day

Earth Overshoot Day is a symbolic day that marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year. In other words, it is the day when the resource budget for the year has been fully spent. Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by dividing the planet's biocapacity (the amount of resources generated by the Earth each year) by humanity's ecological footprint (the amount of resources consumed each year), and multiplying the result by 365. The Earth Overshoot Day date moves forward each year as the ecological footprint grows, and it is currently estimated to occur in early August. The concept of Earth Overshoot Day aims to raise awareness about the ecological impact of human consumption patterns and to encourage individuals and governments to take action to reduce the ecological footprint and move towards a more sustainable future.

EEX (European Energy Exchange)

With more than 600 trading participants worldwide, the European Energy Exchange (EEX) is the leading marketplace for energy and energy-related products in Continental Europe. The headquarter of EEX AG is located in Leipzig. In addition to power and natural gas, CO2 emission allowances, green power and coal are also traded.

El Nino

El Niño is a climate pattern that occurs every 2-7 years and is characterized by warming of the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean, particularly near the equator. This warming causes changes in ocean currents and weather patterns around the world. El Niño can cause heavy rainfall and flooding in some areas, while causing drought and wildfires in others. It can also have a significant impact on global agriculture and fisheries and cause natural disasters. El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), its counterpart is La Niña.

Electro Smog

Electro smog is considered a collective term for the occurrence and presence of artificial electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields. Electro smog sources include overhead lines of railways, power lines (overhead lines), mobile and broadcast antennas and transformer stations.

Emission Factor

An emission factor is a numerical value that indicates how much greenhouse gas (e.g. CO2) is released from a specific source such as a power plant, a production process or a means of transport. This value can be expressed in tons of CO2 equivalents per year or per unit of energy (e.g., per kWh). Emission factors are used to quantify and compare emissions from different sources and are an important part of reporting under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Emission Trading

Emissions trading, also known as cap-and-trade, is a market-based approach to controlling pollution that sets a limit or "cap" on the amount of certain pollutants that can be emitted and then allows companies to buy and sell permits, known as "allowances," to emit those pollutants. The goal of emissions trading is to reduce overall pollution while giving companies an economic incentive to reduce their emissions.
Emissions trading is one of the most common methods of establishing a price on CO2 and is used as a strategy to mitigate climate change. The best-known example of emissions trading is the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The idea was developed as early as 1968 by John Harkness Dales.

Energy Certificate

An energy certificate provides information about how much energy is consumed when using a device or vehicle. Energy certificates are being used in the automotive industry and in electronic gadgets.

ESG

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance and refers to the three main areas relevant to the assessment of companies and their sustainability.

• Environmental: refers to a company's impact on the environment, including emissions, waste management and sustainability.
• Social: refers to a company's impact on society, including working conditions, human rights and social responsibility.
• Governance (Governance): refers to the way a company is managed, including integrity, transparency and accountability.

ESG indices and scores are used by investors to assess the sustainability of companies and inform their investment decisions. A high ESG score can be an indicator of better financial performance and a more sustainable business model.

EU Emission Trading System / European Union Emission Trading System, EU ETS

The EU emission trading is the first cross-border and world-wide emission trading scheme. It is also an EU climate policy instrument with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible economic cost. In this case, an emission reduction is enforced, but it is left to the market, in which way this specific reduction takes place or is achieved. It was put into effect in 2005 and includes some of the industries which cause pollution, such as the following industries: iron, steel smelting, coking plants, refineries and crackers, cement and lime producers, glass, ceramics and the brick industry, paper and cellulose production. These industries account for 45% of the EUs CO2 emissions. This system is based on the fact that for each ton of CO2 emitted the acquired companies have to buy a tradable certificate and there are only a limited number of new certificates allowed per year. Surplus certificates can be sold on the market, so CO2 saving measures are rewarded, while companies with high and rising CO2 emissions on the market have to buy papers. The system thus works according to the cap & trade principle - restrict and act. This should create an incentive to reduce harmful CO2 emissions. Since 2012, aviation has also been included.

European Environmental Standard EMAS

The European environmental standard EMAS examines the ecological footprint of a company, including the consequences of loans and insurance payments. The environmental standard EMAS is based on ISO 14001, but contains additional requirements on certain points. In particular, additional indirect environmental aspects are included in this testing.