Climate change correspondent @LisaatSky
The criticism comes at the start of a year when the UK will host the landmark COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November.
The government has made "disappointing progress" on tackling environmental issues including air and water quality and the loss of wildlife, according to MPs.
A report by the Public Accounts Committee says the government's 25-year Environment Plan, which was published in 2018, does not contain a coherent set of long-term objectives.
It also says that DEFRA - the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - does not have the "clout" to lead the rest of government. The criticism comes at the start of a year when the UK will host the landmark COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November.
Meg Hillier, MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "Our national environmental response is left to one department and months from hosting an international conference on climate change the government struggles to determine the environmental impact of its own latest spending round.