SEATTLE (AP) — Washington's carbon tax initiative was billed as a bipartisan approach to curbing carbon emissions. But voters in this progressive state roundly rejected the measure that drew opposition from the fossil fuel industry and, more surprisingly, many major environmental groups.

The proposed tax on carbon emissions from fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline would have been the first in the U.S., and sponsors hoped it would serve as a model for actions across the country.

The measure failed by a vote of 59 to 41 percent, but backers said their efforts spurred urgent conversations about climate change in an election year where the issue got little national attention.

Left-leaning groups that opposed the measure said they support climate action, but I-732 was a "false solution" that wrongly focused on tax cuts rather than investing money in clean energy projects and communities hardest hit by climate change.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

More From WIBX 950