Glossary of Climate Change

Eco-efficiency - creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution.
Earth's atmosphere - a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earth's gravity.
Earthshine - sunlight reflected from Earth and illuminating the dark side of the Moon.
Ecotax - fiscal policy that introduces taxes intended to promote ecologically sustainable activities via economic incentives.
Ecosystem Services - Benefits humans get from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems.
El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - a set of specific interacting parts of a single global system of coupled ocean-atmosphere climate fluctuations that come about as a consequence of oceanic and atmospheric circulation.
Emission intensity - the average emission rate of a given pollutant from a given source relative to the intensity of a specific activity; for example grams of carbon dioxide released per megajoule of energy produced, or the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions produced to GDP.
Emission standards - requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment
Enteric fermentation - fermentation that takes place in the digestive systems of ruminant animals.
Environmental crime - crime against environmental legislation that is liable for prosecution.