Local climate protection initiatives are receiving increased attention and support. However, most of the current understanding about their content, motivation, and impact is based on qualitative studies, whose findings cannot be generalized, or quantitative studies, which consider superficial measures of policy adoption. There is a lack of information about the type and extent of GHG-reducing actions that “typical” cities have implemented, whether or not they are explicitly framed as part of a broader climate protection strategy. In an effort to address this gap, this paper examines original data collected from a nation-wide sample of U.S. cities on their implementation of a comprehensive list of greenhouse gas-mitigating activities. An assessment of the data reveals considerable variation in the frequency with which the different activities are implemented, particularly when considered across policy instrument type and target population. Further analysis suggests that cities utilize three broad “types” of climate protection strategies, based on the number and nature of the relevant actions that they have implemented.