Technology transfer to developing countries has been  identified as essential to mitigate greenhouse gas  emissions and adapt to climate change. However,  existing analyses underplay the influence of wider  normative principles in shaping institutions for technology  transfer in global climate governance. This  article uses discourse analysis to explore the ideas and  assumptions underlying technology transfer institutions  both within and outside the United Nations  Framework Convention on Climate Change  (UNFCCC). This discourse analysis identifies four key  periods in the development of technology transfer  institutions in global climate governance. In the first  three periods, technology transfer institutions embody  discourses ranging from green governmentality to  deregulatory ecological modernization. In the fourth  period, the post-Copenhagen Technology Mechanism  embodies a broader discursive landscape that parallels  a more fundamental contest over the extent to  which redistributive claims are allowed to shape institutions  of global climate governance.