Executives and policymakers shaping the world's energy strategy are meeting this week in Houston at one of the industry's biggest annual conferences.

• Energy transition is the hot topic. But what exactly that means for the world's biggest energy producers depends on who you ask, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes from CERAWeek.

Why it matters: To oil and gas CEOs, it means investing in cleaner technologies, but also producing more fossil fuels for decades to come. To the Biden administration, it means making those fossil fuels as clean as possible, while pushing for more renewables as fast as possible.

• The implications will not only help determine global climate trends, but the prospects of every company in the energy industry.

Between the lines: Ernest Moniz, energy secretary during the Obama administration, tells Andrew the oil and gas industry and policymakers are talking past one another on the energy transition.

• One example he cited is the lack of candor regarding the role to be played by natural gas on a global scale, given that it could help move developing countries away from dirtier coal-fired power plants.
• "You know, natural gas is not here for five more years. It's here for 50 more years," Moniz said.

The bottom line: The emerging consensus at this year's conference is that in an increasingly carbon-constrained world, producing fossil fuels in ways that emit fewer, though not zero, greenhouse gases would be a wise business move.

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SVB Financial shares cratered more than 60% today after the company, which caters to the venture capital industry through Silicon Valley Bank, announced a plan to raise over $2 billion in fresh capital.

• Following on the heels of today's liquidation announcement by crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital, SVB's move further demonstrates the risk to banks in a rising rate environment.

Between the lines: In an attempt to avoid a bank run, SVB CEO Greg Becker sought to reassure venture clients on a call today about the bank's health, TechCrunch reported.

🚗 GM is offering voluntary buyouts to a “majority” of U.S. salaried workers. (CNBC)

👖 Gap sent its shares plunging over 7% after hours with disappointing holiday-quarter financial results and several executive departures. (CNBC)

Another Norfolk Southern train derailed today — news of which interrupted CEO Alan Shaw’s testimony at a Senate committee hearing.

• Roughly 30 cars derailed before 7am local time near the border of Georgia and Alabama, a local emergency management agency said in a release.
• There were no injuries nor reports of a hazardous materials release.

The big picture: This is the second derailment since the East Palestine disaster last month.

• And the company has told Axios’ Eleanor Hawkins previously that derailments — ranging from one wheel off the track to a crash — can happen “a couple times a week.”

💭 Our thought bubble: From Axios' Emily Peck: "Shaw is feeling the heat both from regulators and the bipartisan group of senators behind a new railway safety bill. He came off a bit like a politician, repeating some of the same talking points. At the hearing, he backed a few new safety measures in the bill — but demurred on more sweeping changes."

The most successful hedge fund last year is eager to apply OpenAI's ChatGPT tool, Hope writes.

• Citadel, which made $16 billion last year, could use ChatGPT to potentially create stock portfolios, Bloomberg reports.

What they're saying: “This branch of technology has real impact on our business,” founder and billionaire Ken Griffin told Bloomberg.

• “Everything from helping our developers write better code to translating software between languages to analyze various types of information that we analyze in the ordinary course of our business.”

Zoom out: Griffin said his other firm, the electronic market maker Citadel Securities, is also looking at using the tool.

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"He was motivated by the glory of bringing in the biggest deals that Goldman had ever done in Asia, by the prospect of advancing within the bank and by pure greed."