Back emf occurs only in motors.
When coil of the motor turn, they cut field lines. Therefore when the coil cuts field lines, it creates an emf (back emf as it opposes the normal emf going through the coil) as there's no load.
Therefore to abide by the law of conservation. Without this back emf, the coil would spin to an infinite speed as it has no resistance to slow it down.
Hope it helps.