Sort of. UL and CE are certifications that declare a a product confirms to the standards defined by those groups. The main difference is that UL only focuses on product safety (i.e. Shock and mechanical hazards), while CE covers product safety plus environmental and health requirements.

UL is technically a global standard, but mostly used in USA/Canada. That's only two countries which already have laws governing what can and cannot be put in a consumer device.

I'm not as familiar with the history of CE, so I don't know why CE decided to cover environmental standards. But my speculation is that it's because CE covers ~30 countries with a larger range of laws.