M2 bus zero-emission scope narrowed; heavy-vehicle fuel quota removed

Public contracting authorities, operators on public road-transport service contracts and their subcontractors must apply narrowed emission requirements when procuring road vehicles. Forskrift 9 October 2026 nr. 2029, in force 9 October 2026Lovdata, amends § 3 of the forskrift om utslippskrav til kjøretøy ved offentlig anskaffelse til veitransport (FOR-2022-12-20-2384)Lovdata so that the 0 g CO2/km requirement for buses in class M2 now covers only M2 buses with standing placesLovdata, while M2 buses without standing places join M3 class III buses under the Euro VI standard through 30 June 2029Lovdata and Euro VII from 1 July 2029Lovdata. The zero-emission requirement is unchanged for passenger cars (M1), vans (N1) and buses in classes M3 I, M3 II and M3 A.

The same amendment deletes, for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030, the rule that at least 25 per cent of all heavy vehicles in classes N2 and N3 covered by all contracts under § 2 use alternative fuel, calculated jointly across all contracts concluded in that periodLovdata. With it go the related mechanics: the carve-out that kept N2/N3 procurements made between 1 January 2026 and 1 October 2026 out of the calculation base when they did not use alternative fuel, the definition of alternative fuel — electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, biofuel, synthetic and paraffinic fuel, natural gas including biomethane as CNG and LNG, and LPG — and the rule that the procurement date for the minimum targets is the date the procedure closes with the award of the contract.

The remaining framework is intact. Contracting authorities, operators and subcontractors may still depart from the § 3 requirements where the primary need cannot be met by a § 3 vehicle, sufficient charging infrastructure is unavailable, the procurement concerns a bus running on biogas, only non-compliant used vehicles are on the market, or a framework agreement predating the regulation's entry into force prevents compliant procurement; any non-compliant procurement must still achieve the lowest possible CO2 emissions, and departures for cars, vans and buses must be reported without undue delay to the Direktoratet for forvaltning og økonomistyring on the prescribed electronic form. The regulation applies to procurements announced after its entry into force, including call-offs under existing framework agreements and competitions in a dynamic purchasing system after that date. It was laid down by the Samferdselsdepartementet under the anskaffelsesloven §§ 5c and 16 fourth paragraph and the yrkestransportlova § 11a, implementing EØS-avtalen vedlegg XX nr. 21av (direktiv 2009/33/EF som endret ved direktiv (EU) 2019/1161).

Legal basis: forskrift om utslippskrav til kjøretøy ved offentlig anskaffelse til veitransport §§ 3 and 4, as amended by forskrift 9 October 2026 nr. 2029 (in force 9 October 2026).