How climate issues are pushing food prices up in Brazil

President Jair Bolsonaro can be called many things, but not green. He has voiced his displeasure at environmental inspectors, saying that, on his watch, environmental authorities wouldn’t continue their “abusive” crackdown on rural producers. But deforestation and climate change are set to have a particularly harsh effect on Brazilian agriculture in the near future—and temperatures are set rise sharply within the next few years.

Moreover, climate change has a considerable influence on food prices, as shown by a Brazilian Central Bank study.

The El Niño weather phenomenon has been interfering with food inflation in the country—for better and for worse. El Niño is the name for an unusual warming of the Pacific Ocean surface, leading to stronger droughts in Brazil’s Northeast, heavier rains in the South and warmer temperatures in...